Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV Takes $1.50 Million Position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Key Points

• Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV acquired 2,741 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. in Q1, valued at approximately $1,497,000.
• Goldman Sachs reported $10.91 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates of $9.82, with a 14.5% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a boost in its quarterly dividend from $3.00 to $4.00 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.20%.

Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,741 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $1,497,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 170.0% during the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 54 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 326.7% during the 1st quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total value of $4,310,079.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,079 shares of company stock worth $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded down $7.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $723.14. 1,173,718 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,614,990. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $437.37 and a 52 week high of $737.88. The firm's fifty day moving average is $665.10 and its 200-day moving average is $608.80. The stock has a market cap of $221.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The firm had revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 12.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.62 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group's previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on GS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $625.00 to $614.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI set a $715.00 price target on The Goldman Sachs Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Daiwa America cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in financing under securities to resale agreements.